US continue humanitarian airdrops into Gaza

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted another round of humanitarian airdrops Thursday into northern Gaza for civilians affected by an Israeli onslaught.

Planes dropped approximately 50,600 US meal equivalents, CENTCOM wrote on X, adding the US has dropped 946 tons of assistance to date.

"During today's mission, approximately 25 bundles landed in the sea. USCENTCOM does not assess civilian harm or damage to infrastructure at this time but continue to monitor the situation," it added.

The Pentagon said previously that safety is a "top priority" when planning the airdrops.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, in which less than 1,200 people were killed.

Nearly 34,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and more than 76,800 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.